Where in the World are the Schlafmanns?

Water --> No Water

2012-02-24T22:32:00.000-05:00

We have no water ... well, that's not completely true.

The water that comes from a natural spring on our property has gotten blocked somehow on it's journey from the spring to a large holding tank. This section of pipe is buried 5 feet under the frozen ground and stretches 1/4 mile from our barn-home. Not good. We noticed the problem yesterday. We've been conserving of what's left in the tank in our barn which is about 75 gallons while trying various "fixes" for the problem. All to no avail.

Hmmm. This could get real interesting real quick.

Oh moon so bright!

2012-02-14T10:35:00.000-05:00

I'm sure none of you missed the glorious full moon last week -- we loved it and took the opportunity to go on an evening hike. Once the sun had finished setting and it was dark, it seemed as if a spotlight was shining down through the forest -- making shadows everywhere and turning the snow into thousands of diamonds!

Three + months later...

2012-02-12T19:09:00.001-05:00

... and I finally have new teeth! I got a snazzy new bridge put in on Thursday and no longer scare people (too much) with my smile :)

What I have learned? Dental care is expensive! I waited until we'd worked a couple weeks before calling places to get estimates ... when I did start calling. I was VERY discouraged to find that a new bridge is over $3,000. Not good when you're working for minimum wage and don't have dental coverage. It did make me do a lot of thinking - about life and choices and consequencs of those choices. We all do it -- make choices (some good, some bad) and even though we know choices have consequences, sometime those consequences can still catch us by surprise.

Ice ... on everything

2012-02-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

We had a mini ice storm a few days ago and we've been amazed at how beautiful (and also how slippery and how destructive) the ice is. It has made every tree sparkle in the sunlight with the rainbows of a thousand prisms. Completely breathtaking - and something my camera cannot do justice to.

Loving these!

2012-02-01T14:27:00.000-05:00

Mine don't look quite as pretty as Joy's, but I'm pretty sure they taste just as good! Joy's is the only food blog I check out regularly and can I tell you - it is well worth it! She is the first person who I've heard make reference to "breakfast dessert" and these most definitely fit that category. Absolutely delish (and easy to boot)!

Walking ... err, snowshoeing on water

2012-01-17T16:36:00.001-05:00

For the past few weeks, Tiny Pond as has been gradually getting more and more ice on it. We hadn't yet ventured out for fear that it would not be thick enough yet to hold us, but when we had some ice fisherman show up last week asking to fish on it, we knew it must be safe. So yesterday, after several below zero days and a snow storm, we headed across the lake with our snow shoes. I don't think I've ever walked across a frozen lake, pond or river before and it was very fun (and very cold)!

After one of our earlier snows ... only a little ice around the edges.

Yesterday ...

Before & After

2012-01-17T15:22:00.001-05:00

This was our thermometer reading before we left for church on Sunday morning (thanks to Jason's parents for giving us this very entertaining indoor/outdoor thermometer) -- nice and cozy inside even though it was chilly outside.

When we returned home from church and work, over 12 hours later, it was a bit of a different story! Brrr!

Our winter wonderland

2012-01-05T17:17:00.000-05:00

Things have been a little quiet on this blog ... we're adjusting back into having a regular work schedule while continuing to do upkeep at Forest Echo. With that, extra trips to town to use the internet have kinda gotten put on the back burner.

We are doing really well and had a lovely belated Christmas (since we worked through the holidays). We decided to do most of our shopping for each other at our local thrift store this year on a $10 budget and I have to say it was quite a success. I was calculating up how much we spent in total on our Christmas for two and it was under $50 -- including decorations, gifts for each other and a special meal. It sorta thrilled me to be able to have a special Christmas on that budget. (Am I super weird for being excited by that???!?!)

Anyhow, here are a few pictures of what's been happening with us for the past couple weeks :)

Happy New Year!

My first ever attempt at making a wreath!

I had to try making a Christmas tree coffee cake -

my Mom always made one.

Jason on his way to our outhouse --

not exactly properly dressed!

Two for one flying squirrels - no idea how they BOTH ended up caught in the trap!

A little bigger than a mouse

2011-12-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

As you know, we have a mouse problem in our house (barn-house rather) ... we've been setting traps and have made quite a dent in the population. However, we've still had super loud noises coming from inside the walls/crawl space of the third floor at night. I finally made Jason get in there and take a look. I was a bit terrified at what it would look like based on all the gnawing sounds that have been being blasted from the area. When he looked, he didn't really find anything unusual. So one evening in the midst of the racket, he took a peek and came back downstairs to let me know that a SQUIRREL had joined us!

It was time to set a bigger, live trap which luckily the summer caretakers had left for us (I guess the fact that it was left for us should have been our cue that we'd end up using it). So, back Jason went into the crawl space to leave our trap ...

When we checked this morning, we had caught something, but it didn't look like any squirrel I'd ever seen. We were both left wondering, "what IS it?" Seemed more like a large chipmunk without the fun stripes.

On my way into town, I took the squirel for a ride and released him several miles from our house with the hope he won't be returning. He quickly scampered up a tree and out of sight ... then as I left he flew/glided to another tree!! I'd never seen a flying squirrel before and it was SO fun/surprising to see!

My first uniform

2011-12-20T15:17:00.000-05:00

Jason and I were fortunate to begin work last week at Okemo Mountain Resort, the local ski resort and with that I was given my first work uniform - ever. Very exciting business for the girl who has to try on five outfits before going to work. I've always liked the idea of a uniform, thinking it would reduce my early morning clothing decision making and am excited to now have the opportunity to try it out. We're also super happy to have the opportunity to be getting a little income for the first time since we left China. Hurrah!

Bread ... in a can?

2011-12-13T14:51:00.001-05:00

Am I the only one who had never heard of this???
I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen and tasted it myself ...
As wrong as it sounds, it's actually quite delicious!
Thank you New England for introducing me to bread in a can!

Toilets from another time

2011-12-07T13:16:00.001-05:00

Jason and I have had great fun exploring both the land and the cabins of this beautiful place. As we've explored, we've found some interesting/fun things. One of these is the variety of antique (and otherwise) toilets scattered around.

Check these out --

Just a couple pretty pictures

2011-12-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

Going to use the outhouse in the morning is not my most favorite thing in the world, but seeing a sunrise like this one makes it all worth while!

Blessed!

2011-11-29T16:26:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving always seems to be a time to remember our blessings and be thankful ... I wish I would give that kind of focus to my blessings everyday.

This year, I felt especially thankful for Peace Corps. In spite of the many organizational negatives I encountered during my experience, I am thankful for Peace Corps. First and foremost, for introducing me to my incredible husband - a person who I never thought I would meet. Secondly, I am so so so thankful for the group of people it introduced me to. Our little band of 16 volunteers, bound for Tonga. Many of who I still keep in touch with and all whom I shared a uniquely challenging and memorable time of my life with.

This weekend I was reminded to be thankful for Peace Corps because we were blessed by a visit from a fellow volunteer and friend, William. It was a totally spontaneous visit and we loved it! I was grateful for the reminder of the priceless things I gained from my Peace Corps experience.

When William arrived on Thursday morning (after taking a very early bus from NYC), he began unloading his small backpack -- it was packed with all kind of treats from Trader Joe's! He'd hardly brought any clothes and was apologizing for not being able to bring more food! This is the kind of guy William is.

It had snowed the day before so we got out on some snowshoes right away ... figuring to exercise before the Turkey coma :)

No trip to Forest Echo would be complete without a canoe ride on Tiny Pond ...

... or a hike up to the lookout ...

The boys built a BIG snowman!

A quick fishing trip on Tiny Pond -- the fish live up to the name: Tiny!

Putting William to work before he headed home!

Friends!

2011-11-15T17:32:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to have some wonderful friends come for a visit this past weekend. Can I just say how nice it was to have friends around - even if it was just for a couple days? It makes me realize how much I miss people. Oddly enough, living in Vermont has actually left me feeling more isolated than when we lived in Shanghai, so it was great to be able to connect with some good friends.

Megan and I met 15 years ago while at college and I am so thankful that we've been able to continue our friendship. She and her husband, Michael, made the 10 hour (one-way) drive up to see us and had no qualms about staying in our off-the-grid living situation.

Michael who has a very nice camera and a gifted eye for photos, took some beautiful photos which he agreed could be shared here. Any of those photos are marked with a MM in the corner.

As you will be able to see ... I am still toothless. Grrr. After getting my bridge re-bonded, it only stayed in a week before falling right back out again, right before a holiday weekend. So, I was toothless in Vermont for the weekend. Fun :)

We had an awesome time hiking, canoeing, talking & talking, playing board games & football (on a field lit by car headlights), making applesauce and eating (of course!)

PS -- we're all wearing bright colors since deer hunting season began this past weekend and we didn't want to get shot! I can't believe that after living in LA & NYC, I'm more afraid of getting shot here in the wilderness of Vermont!

Turkeys in the morning

2011-11-10T16:50:00.000-05:00

We woke up to over 20 of these wild turkeys in our yard!
Thanksgiving anyone???

Do you ever just feel lost?

2011-11-08T14:14:00.000-05:00

Do you ever try so hard to be the person you want to be and just utterly fail? Day.After.Day.
Constantly failing at something makes me want to just give up.
Will I ever be the kind, patient, tender-hearted woman that I want to be? Will I ever even make progress toward those things? I dunno. Today, it seems impossible and I feel empty with that depressing thought.
I know that tomorrow when I wake up, I'll have a new perspective -- for some reason, "a new day with no mistakes in it yet" gives me the boost I need to try yet again :)
For today, I get to sit in this beautiful library and use the free internet ... I am fortunate.

"Wow ... uh ... it's a lot more noticeable than I expected ... "

2011-11-03T15:38:00.000-04:00

Jason's comment to me when I came home from the dentist on Tuesday, looking like this:

First Visitors!

2011-11-01T18:19:00.000-04:00

Before the snow, we were fortunate to have a visit from Jason's parents. It was a very quick visit, but we squeezed in a lot of fun activities and as always they were incredibly good sports - not complaining once about the outdoor toilets or lack of electricity! We were so glad to have them see and experience our new home and only wish they could have stayed longer.

Testing out the flavors of our local cheese maker -- they had samples of 8 or 9 different types of cheese! Delish!

We got stuck in a thundershower on our way to Tiny Pond and made use of a nearby shelter --

Beaver work.

On our last day ... at Buttermilk Falls.

Our winter wonderland

2011-11-01T18:05:00.000-04:00

After our little bit of snow on Thursday morning, we had more snow during the day and then even more snow on Saturday - turning our place into a spectacular winter wonderland!

Have I mentioned how it's sort of eerie to be living on this property with four furnished but empty houses? It's mostly fun, but every once in a while it short of feels like we're in a ghost town or something.

Of course, with the snow comes a few more chores ... my first time snow shoveling! All the way to our outhouse :)

Jason - shoveling the snow off the flat part of our roof.

Seemed like a good excuse to take the canoe out one more time.

Snow already!

2011-10-27T12:18:00.001-04:00

When I woke up this morning, things were looking very white outside and I thought we must have had a very hard freeze last night ... on closer inspection, it was SNOWING!!

You know you're a bit off the beaten path when ...

2011-10-26T12:19:00.000-04:00

... you never leave home without a chainsaw!
This is the latest addition to the back of our Jeep -- to clear any trees that have fallen across our road which would block us from getting home.

A bit of family & exploring

2011-10-20T13:40:00.000-04:00

Last week we were able to do a bit of visiting before the weather and our job responsibilities keep us close to our home.

I saw more wooden, covered bridges last week than I expected to see during our entire time here! Sadly, they are now all starting to look alike ...

Quechee Gorge -- Amazing! Not sure why we both have such goofy expressions, but we look like we're having fun, right?

Catching up with my cousin, Lindy who I haven't seen for years and getting a glimpse of Dartmouth -- we were a day early for the Presidential debate!

Visiting some "cousins" in Rhode Island -- Paul with his daughter Cindy, who shares the same great-great grandparents with me. I soaked up the ocean breeze, knowing it may be awhile before I see the coast again.

Jason goes to Yale!

Visiting a Peace Corps friend, Soraya, and her husband Yun in Connecticut. I last saw them in Beijing! Didn't they have the best wedding cake toppers you've ever seen???

And a stop at Trader Joes!! We don't have these anywhere close to where we live, so I had to go stock up on a few favorite items!

Vermont sunrise

2011-10-19T13:25:00.000-04:00

As the sun starts rising later and later, I find I am up early enough to watch it peak over the nearby hills, chasing away the darkness. Yesterday's was such a beauty!

The leaves in these parts

2011-10-17T16:55:00.000-04:00

... looked like this a week ago. Completely glorious! Now ... not so much :(

Making Cider the Old Fashioned Way

2011-10-16T13:31:00.000-04:00

Since our very first interview for this position, we've been hearing about "Cidering Weekend" and last weekend we got to experience it first hand. It was amazing!!!

We had the MOST amazing weather for the weekend, completely unusual for Vermont at this time of year -- warm, sunny days and crisp evenings. It was truly perfect and felt like a special gift given all the terrible weather things that have been happening in this area.

Before this weekend, I knew nothing about what it meant to make cider ... well, now I know and let me tell you, the end result is absolutely delicious!

Step 1: Rinse apples off (and/or bob for them)

Step 2: Grind apples into small chunks with this hand-cranked piece of equipment (while trying to keep children's fingers away)

Step 3: Use a hand-cranked press to squeeze the juice out of the crunched-up apple bits.

Step 4: Pour juice through a strainer (for those of you wondering about the worms, this is an important step!) and enjoy! If apple juice tasted this good, I would be drinking it all the time!

A mouse -

2011-10-11T14:00:00.000-04:00

has moved in to my trouser drawer!

I went to grab a pair of jeans yesterday and noticed a pile of dried black beans tucked into the cuff of my pants! As impressed as I was that a mouse moved all of those from the pantry (across the house) into my drawer, I was not stoked that he'd been hanging out in my dresser drawers. Guess that will teach me to close them tightly!

What we've been up to

2011-10-04T15:49:00.000-04:00

Well, we've been here for just over a month now. I feel like our time is speeding by and am trying to enjoy everything. Mostly, we've enjoyed the AMAZING beauty around us and how peaceful life is on our property. Another awesome thing has been living on our own. After two years of living with teenagers and school staff, I don't know if I can do justice to how incredible it is to have our own space and not feel like we're constantly on display.

Over the past few weeks as we've been getting settled we've been learning a few new skills and enjoying the beautiful outdoors around us.

Wasp exterminator:

Tractor operator:

Chimney sweeper:

This is as far up as I went ... too scary for me!

Cleaning up from the sweep - yuck!

The payoff of a warm, safe & pretty fire is worth it!

I decided that Jason shouldn't have ALL the fun and had a go with the chainsaw.

Some more traditional types of fun -- hiking, canoeing and sight-seeing.

That's our house down there!

Some of our own fun & a very l-o-n-g drive

2011-09-29T14:31:00.000-04:00

As always seems to be the case, our time with our families was packed and we didn't even come close to doing many of the activities we hoped to do. BUT, we had an awesome time. In the midst of all the reconnecting we did have a couple mini-adventures together and then one very long road trip across the US.

While staying with my sister and three nephews in July, we had a mid-week escape to Lake Tahoe. A place Jason had never been to. It was surprisingly a bit hazy the day we were there, but still completely gorgeous!

For my birthday, we headed up California's coastal Hwy 1 -- stopping at every pretty viewpoint along the way with an overnight in Carmel. What an amazing beach Carmel has!! I don't think I'd ever been there before and I could see why it is such a popular destination.

Our drive to Vermont was a week long adventure -- enjoying some glorious scenery, seeing friends & family along the way, feeling very nervous, wondering if the car would make it the whole way without too many problems and then as reports of the hurricane damage in Vermont rolled in, wondering what might be in store for us when we arrived.

Our first two days of the drive were by far the most beautiful -- we opted to take a slightly longer route (what difference do a few hours make when you're spending over 50 on the road?). We got to drive through Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons. SO beautiful! The rest of the drive although not as grandly beautiful certainly had many pretty spots with a beauty all their own ...

The most amazing sunset of the trip was the evening we drove into Denver.

In Omaha, I got to reconnect with a cousin that I haven't seen too much since I was a child. We had a ton of fun exploring the adorable downtown area and spending an afternoon at a nearby lake.

We saw the most expensive gas prices in Chicago, caught a glimpse of the Sears Tower from the road and enjoyed watching kids play in busted fire hydrants.

We stopped in Buffalo too, but I realize I must have been all pictured out - I didn't take a single photo. We had another unique opportunity to visit with the childhood best friend of Jason's dad and see one of my college friends that I haven't seen for years. It was a special time and a great last day of our road trip.

Here comes Fall!!!!!

2011-09-23T14:21:00.000-04:00

The colors are starting to change here and oh my is it beautiful! Driving down our road today took my breath away at the vibrant colors that are starting to show!

Hazell Family Summer Fun

2011-09-23T14:14:00.000-04:00

We had a great time visiting with my family this summer too. Although as always the time felt way, way too short!

We started by meeting my parents in Klammath Falls, Oregon and exploring the area before heading south.

We celebrated my Mom's birthday in Grants Pass, Oregon with aunts, uncles, cousins and kids! My Mom and Chad had birthday watermelons! So fun!

My parents dropped us in the Sacramento area for a few days with my sister Bonnie and her family. I hadn't been to Sacramento in many, many years and it was fun to explore the area with my three nephews.

With my younger sister, Jeannie and my nephew Talon.

We got to go fishing with my brother and his wife, Ashley at Avila Beach -- we didn't even get one bite though!

Ashley and Jason's birthday falls on the same date -- double celebration! Amazing Thai food, a delicious, homemade boston cream pie and a cliff walk at Montana de Oro.

The one thing that we didn't get to do this summer was visit with our friends in southern California ... I was really, really sad about that. The timing just didn't work out and for all of you that we'd so hoped to see, I'm sorry we couldn't make it work. :(

Schlafmann Family Summer Fun

2011-09-16T17:10:00.000-04:00

We had a GREAT time this summer visiting with both our families. With Jason's family, we spent a lot of time on the road, doing some awesome hikes and hanging out with his beautiful nieces.

One of the benenfits to being on the road - AMAZING sticky buns from Wheat Montana bakery!

In North Dakota - checking out some of the farm land.

If you are EVER near Salem, Oregon, you should definitely do this hike - a very, very moderate 8 mile trail through a gorgeous area. Oh and by they way, you get to see 10 waterfalls along the way!

At Klammath Falls, Oregon with Jason's parents.

And a last hurrah with the whole family at Heyburn State Park in Idaho.

Irene's damages

2011-09-16T16:06:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Irene came through Vermont just a few days before we arrived -- although Forest Echo is on high ground and didn't have any damage, there are SO many places here that were hit really, really hard. Many roads and highways in our area as still out and buildings that were in the flood zone may not be recovered. I've taken just a few photos as we've driven around ... the destructive force of water completely astounds me.

This used to be a road.

Sink holes big and small seem to be everywhere.

Going green -- Vermont style!

2011-09-16T14:50:00.000-04:00

Vermont is known as the Green Mountain State and we've officially joined the ranks! We're very excited to not be such obvious "flat landers" anymore (anyone not from Vermont is considered a flat lander).

The Last of ... Beautiful China: Cycling thru Yangshuo

2011-09-12T16:52:00.000-04:00

I can't resist finishing up posting some of our pictures from our final China Adventure. Our last few days of our trip were spent in the amazing Yangshuo. We spent our time on bikes exploring the beautiful area.

One of the best things about being in Yangshuo was getting to stay at The Giggling Tree -- an awesome converted farmhouse in the countryside, with a fabulous terrace and only a short walk away from gorgeous sunsets.

Forest Echo Farm

2011-09-09T15:17:00.000-04:00

After a week on the road, we arrived here last Saturday evening -- tired and super happy to now that we had finally arrived at our new home. This place is realy special! Beautiful all around and the people who own it made it even better -- they are incredible! Here are some shots of our new home. When we drove in, the "barn" looked a little more rustic than I'd remembered it, but our quarters on the 2nd floor are really cozy and comfortable.

The third floor work room / extra bedroom

The inside washroom - sink & shower

The toilet or "kybo"

The property farmhouse

The small lake on the property -- we've already gotten out for a canoe ride!

My new posting venue

2011-09-09T14:26:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting at the Belmont General Store -- the closest wi-fi access to our place (a 10-15 minute drive away). I'm sitting at a beautiful window with this as my view and I'm joined at the table by two of the women who work at the store and a local woman with her two daughters. They are discussing the local gossip over coffee and I'm getting an earful :)

1617 miles down!

2011-09-01T00:25:00.000-04:00

1397 miles to go until we reach Vermont!

Yep ... we're in "the middle" somewhere :) These cheery guys are lining all the roads making for a pretty drive.

Beautiful China: Rafting the Yulong River

2011-08-28T01:55:00.000-04:00

Our next stop after Guilin was nearby Yangshuo and to get there we decided to take the scenic route. It was a blast! A rafting trip down the Yulong River -- sandwiched on both ends by bus rides :) The breathtaking landscape followed us the entire way.

Beautiful China: Hiking the Dragon's Backbone (Longji Rice Terraces)

2011-08-26T18:33:00.000-04:00

The morning after my camera got stolen in Guilin we weren't really feeling up for much, but we'd previously made transportation arrangements to go to the Longji Rice Terrace villages and spend a day hiking through the hills, spending the night in a local guest house. So off we went. The day started pretty rough since I was still really, really sad over losing our pictures from the earlier part of our trip. Jason caught my attitude perfectly in this first photo! :)

We were dropped off in Ping An village -- it was beautiful and quaint ... and very touristy!

Our hike began and PingAn and was scheduled to take 4 - 5 hours to DaZhai village along these lovely stone pathways. It was gorgeous every step of the way. The sign Jason is standing next to says "no photos while walking." :)

Unfortunately for us, the path was NOT well marked at all. We'd been told we could ask for directions in the small villages along the way, but the locals refused to point us in the right direction, insisting instead to be our guide (for a fee of course!). At one point we were literally running to get away from one of the women who had decided to "guide" us even though we'd refused very directly.

So .... all that being said, the hike took us 8 - 9 hours and we ended up walking on a desserted highway after dark, in the pouring rain. Not exactly what we'd imagined! We eventually stumbled into Dazhai and took the first room offered to us. The next morning when we awoke, this was the view from our window! Amazing!

Looking a bit tired, but still enjoying the gorgeous scenery.

Catching up soon

2011-08-23T00:11:00.000-04:00

Wow! It is hard to believe how quickly our summer is coming to an end. I'm hoping in the next few days to get caught up on sharing some pictures -- from the 2nd half of our southern China trip and some from our time here in the US. We'll see how I do :)

We depart on Sunday for our road trip to Vermont to start our new job. We had a good test drive for "red rover" over the past weekend when we drove back up to Spokane from California. The trip was not without a few auto glitches which we think have now been fixed. It made me think about how trouble (of any kind) tends to force me into constant prayer. And how sad that when things are going well, I often forget to continue to pray. Perhaps these glitches were what we needed so that we would not forget to pray as we go through this move across the country.

Celebrating a milestone with a road trip

2011-08-21T20:54:00.000-04:00

I have to admit something ... a week ago, I turned 35!

For some reason this number has sounded VERY much like a big number and I had told Jason in advance that he needed to plan a getaway for us ...

He decided on a road trip up Highway 1 through Big Sur to Carmel. Along the way we found this spot that looked to me like the perfect picture of paradise.

And, we're heading to ...

2011-08-13T23:09:00.000-04:00

VERMONT!!!!

We're very excited about moving to Vermont later this month to begin work as property caretakers for Forest Echo Farms and living off-the-grid for another season of our life adventure together.

Some of the things currently on my shopping list are:
- full body women's snow suit
- snow shoes
- snow boots

Do you see a theme here???

One BIG item off our shopping list is our very first car together which my mom has already nicknamed 'Red Rover.' We feel really blessed to have found a used car with four-wheel drive that was within our budget and seems to be in fairly good shape. We continue to pray that it will get us to Vermont without too many snags.

The waiting game

2011-08-05T16:23:00.000-04:00

Well, we have made it to California and have been getting some much needed rest at my parents house for the past couple days. I'm very happy to say we've been to the ocean twice this past week and going again today! How I have missed that!

On another note, we are playing the waiting game -- waiting to see what God has in store for us next. We seem to find ourselves in this position often and I don't know if the process gets any easier.

We have interviewed for two jobs and are excited about the potential of either one:

- One is in Spokane, WA and is a 6th grade teaching position for Jason at the Christian school he attended. He interviewed three weeks ago and has heard that the principal will make a decision today!

- The other possibility is a caretaking position in Vermont - at Forest Echo Farms. It would be a c-o-l-d winter, but the thought of living off the grid in the middle of this gorgeous place thrills us. We have received positive feedback from the owners and have been told a decision will be made next week.

So, we wait & see.

My First Murphy Bed

2011-07-22T18:44:00.000-04:00

We've been in Klamath Falls, Oregon for the past few days with Jason's parents ... one of the funnest things about where we are staying is that we get to sleep on a Murphy bed! How awesome is it to pull your bed right out of the closet!!??! And, it's WAY more comfy than any sofa-bed I've ever slept on!

Jason ... the pied piper

2011-07-17T04:07:00.000-04:00

My mom often jokes that Jason is the pied piper -- children always follow him around wherever we are. Last weekend we were in N. Dakota and things were no different.

It started with two nieces and quickly turned into two nieces plus cousin's daughters all sitting on his legs. In minutes it was nieces and all the cousin's kids following him and by the end he even had an extra child at the park joining in on the chase!

Being Careless

2011-07-07T19:30:00.001-04:00

We're back in the USA and super, super happy about it. Being home is always a comforting feeling and we're especially enjoying things like the clean, blue sky and how polite everyone is.

We had a fantastic trip through Southern China, but had something happen that put a big damper on our spirits which still feels sort of devastating:

I got careless and our camera was taken out of my purse by a pickpocket. We'd just finished 3 days in Yunnan province, doing the absolute most incredible thing to do in China (hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge) and had not copied/backed-up any of the photos yet...losing the photos was SO SO much worse than just losing our camera.

We've plagued ourselves with what we could have done differently. It all boils down to the fact that I got caught up being a tourist and I was comfortable when I shouldn't have been. Even though I realized within seconds what had happened and we confronted the man who took it, he'd already passed it off to his co-worker and in that moment we didn't know what else we could do. We sat for an hour, feeling sick and half hoping someone would come back with an offer to resell it to us, then filed a police report (using my limited Chinese & their limited English and a lot of charades - very interesting), then went to a walmart-type store and bought a very "pianyi" (=cheap) camera. Sigh. Not what we'd hoped for from our last trip in China.

We did go back to the scene of the crime for a photo of course ...

This incident has made me think a lot about being careless. Especially, the quick consequences of carelessness. I was careless for a moment and lost photos of a priceless experience with my husband. Even though we both tried not to let the incident affect us too much, it wasn't easy to move on and enjoy the last days of our vacation to their fullest. Even now, I feel sad and defeated about the whole thing. And that was just a camera. I've been thinking about the consequences of careless words ... how easy it is to toss a careless word out without thinking about the consequences to whoever may hear it. And knowing the devastating effects words can have on a person. I know that I have no control over getting back my photos of our trip, but maybe I can try to keep my tongue from using careless words.

The last things ...

2011-06-24T11:54:00.000-04:00

This week has been FULL of last things. We leave in the morning for 9 days in Southern China and will return to Shanghai for less than a day before we leave for good. So, we've been trying to soak everything in as much as possible. Here are a few images of our last things in Shanghai:

Last bike ride (yay for a sunny day Wednesday -- sold our bikes on Thursday)

Last time finding a cute, Shanghai cafe on accident

Last interesting street foods -- I think this is lotus root/flower?

And, also bananas being sold along the road - I love that he has an electronic scale on his cart (most the fruit vendors do!)

Last recycling carts.

Last laundry and teeth brushing on the sidewalks

Last bird-men carrying their birds to the park to visit with other birds.

Last soccer day with teachers & students.

Last morning with our students.

Last amazing foot massage at Dragonfly and last time at our school.

And last of the last things ... I don't know that I'll ever see a man wearing loafers , slacks and a collared shirt with a blow torch putting on the roof on next door!

Oops, I lied ... one more. The last time we may see our street at night. It looks kind of pretty this way.

My new home?

2011-06-23T20:58:00.000-04:00

Last church service in China

2011-06-20T05:55:00.000-04:00

It has officially begun ... all of the "last" things. Seeing people and places for the last time. My eyes fill with tears as it sinks in: we are really leaving Shanghai.

Yesterday, we attended our last church service. When people ask me what I will miss about Shanghai, this is one of the biggest things that comes to mind. We've been SO SO blessed by our church! It has been truly incredible to worship each week with people from over 60 countries! We think it has been a small glimpse of heaven -- when we will one day worship with believers from all over the world.

This week was a baptism Sunday and of the 15 baptisms, 11 countries were represented. And man, what an awesome feeling of celebration was in the air! It was a beautiful and a perfect way to end.

In addition to an amazing service, we got to see Eri from our Bible study group one last time and we got to meet her brand new husband! They just got married on Wednesday! Congratulations sweet Eri!

Getting soaked in Hangzhou

2011-06-17T06:58:00.001-04:00

Since Jason didn't get to go to Hangzhou (hahng-joe) when my parents were here ... we decided to sneak over on the speed train on Tuesday. We hadn't really checked the forecast, but should have known ... it's been raining here for days and there does not seem to be an end in site. It rained the whole day! We still had a great time (water logged shoes and all) - it is amazingly good for the spirit to get away from the noise and chaos of Shanghai and be able to see more than just a brief glimpse of nature.

The fishermen were out in full force -- this man had quite the catch! His wife came by on her bicycle, they shoved the still flopping fish into her bike basket and away she went!

We thought that perhaps because of the rain we would escape the crowds ... not so!

Sadly, we did not get to go for a ride in the dragon boat ...

'Now, undo your face'

2011-06-15T09:17:00.010-04:00

I'm a wretched communicator. I have known this for a long time. Even though I still keep pen-pals and can happily spend hours handwriting letters to friends, I tend to clam up when it comes to speaking with the person I am closest too (i.e. my husband). Spending the last 3 years living in countries where English is not the first language has not improved on my already poor skills. Now, even when I do try to speak, my words make absolutely no sense.

Yesterday, this is exact instruction I gave Jason...'now, undo your face.'
What is he supposed to do with that??

Being the sweetheart that he is, he simply said 'uh, what does that mean?' as he smiled for the self-timed camera taking our photo ... here is the result:

What I had meant was ... can you move your umbrella so that your face is in the light for the photo?
Would have been a lot less confusing!
Of course, Jason is smiling away, looking cute - meanwhile, the camera catches me talking, with my face in the most shadow!

Tea-time at the Peace Hotel

2011-06-12T20:43:00.006-04:00

Don't you love it when you move half-way around the world to find out that someone who lived 5 minutes from where you grew up has also moved half-way around the world?

Shortly after moving here in 2009 I found out from my Mom, that Cindi and her husband Dale were living/working in Shanghai off and on for his work. Their house in the US is about 5 miles from where I grew up. We've enjoyed their company on several occassions and on Friday I got to introduce Cindi to her first ever experience with indulging in high tea!

I've been wanting to get inside the Peace Hotel ever since they re-opened last year and this was a perfect opportunity. As always, I am fascinated by the history that surrounds many of the buildings in Shanghai. This place is beautiful ... and the tea is amazing! (Way more food than even I could eat!)

Jason is thinking of applying here ...

2011-06-12T08:29:00.000-04:00

Or maybe ... I should be the one applying!

We were on a walk around our neighborhood last week when Jason let out a chuckle -- he couldn't believe there was a whole company dedicated to this!

Happy Dragon Boat Festival Day!

2011-06-06T05:00:00.000-04:00

Care to join us for some zongzi?
The traditional snack of the Dragon Boat Festival: glutinous rice stuffed with fillings and then wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed.

This one had sweet red bean paste filling.

Naptime in Shanghai

2011-06-03T05:09:00.000-04:00

This photo quality is downright awful.
But I took it while riding my bike through a busy intersection.
This was the second group of people we come across in a 5 minute period - all snoozing in the middle of the day along the road. I count at least 5 (maybe 6?) sets of feet :)

What's next?

2011-05-25T08:43:00.000-04:00

As our school year winds down, we've been getting this question a lot and we're pretty curious about the answer too :)

We don't know what our next "job" will be and we still feel okay about that. I remind myself of the past few years, that we didn't get our Palau position until late July and we didn't get this position until the end of June. Meanwhile, here's what the next few months look like:

June 23 -- Last day of school and the dorm closes at 9 pm!
June 25 -- We fly to Lijiang, China to do the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike & explore the area
June 30 -- We fly to Guilin, China to do some more exploring
July 5 -- We fly to the US, into Spokane. We'll spend 2 - 3 weeks with Jason's family & then head down to California to visit my family.

After that, we don't know..
We are still hopeful for a caretaking situation and applied for caretaking jobs at a vacation home in Costa Rica and a horse ranch in Georgia (US) this week. If caretaking doesn't pan out for us this time, we've got a few other ideas up our sleeves ... we are excited about the endless possibilities! And being able to look back and be reminded of how well God has taken care of us in the past really is really thrilling.

Each day I see things here in Shanghai that I will very much miss seeing. This city has so many interesting and beautiful places that usually pop up unexpectedly. I'm trying to capture all the sites, sounds and smells in my memory and luckily I have a camera to help with some of that.

And last, but definitely not least ... you see a lot of interesting eyebrows in China, but these are by far the thickest, long eyebrows I have seen yet!

Turtle anyone?

2011-05-23T05:10:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago while riding our bikes, we noticed a man in a hardhat with a large, live turtle/tortoise hanging from a stick. We could hardly believe it! Especially since it looked very similar to the Galapagos ones we've seen at the Shanghai zoo. I couldn't help but wonder if somebody had stolen it from the zoo and was trying to re-sell it. I didn't think it was a site I would ever see again and then last week, right outside our school, this man is dangling an ordinary looking turtle from a stick.

(This isn't a great quality photo since I took it from across the street, but you get the idea)

Four down .... sixty-one to go!

2011-05-19T08:08:00.000-04:00

Four years ago today, I had the unimaginable joy of being able to marry a man who's qualities far exceeded everything I had ever dreamed of. After being married for four years, I still catch myself wondering how I came to be so fortunate. I like that and I hope I never lose the feeling of awe.

With our job, going out in the evening isn't an option so instead we celebrated by going on a lunch date to a place that we both love. Although we got off to a rough start (my self-esteem issues pick the worst moments to knock me down), we had an terrific date and ate some amazing Thai curry! Yum!

Daytripping in Suzhou

2011-05-18T19:30:00.009-04:00

On Tuesday, Jason and I decided to hop the speed train for this city known for it's gardens (some claiming to be 1000 years old).

One of the tag lines for Suzhou (sue-joe) is that it is the Venice-of-the-East ... we didn't find it to be on par with that claim, but it was a lovely little town (only 6 million people) and we had fun exploring it for a few hours.

Suzhou does have a lot of canals running through it that made for some pretty scenery.

It is also known for it's many bridges...

We got to play on a remnant of the original city wall

Atop the wall - complete with grass and benches!

Of course a garden is not complete without a pagoda.

"If you ask me, there isn't enough blue food in the world" - Mark Darcy

2011-05-18T04:45:00.000-04:00

I seem to have found more blue food.
Who knew that garlic could turn this color???

We had quite the surprise when unwrapping our garlic bread from its aluminum foil! After some checking it appears it just reacted with the butter and/or wasn't quite mature yet :) Still tasted delicious!

It's been awhile ...

2011-05-15T10:48:00.000-04:00

I've been a little remiss on here lately. I think it's because I haven't captured any interesting photos or had any major mishaps to share. But, we've been keeping ourselves busy with other things ...

Two weeks ago, I found out that my best friend here in China would be moving away not in 8 weeks as planned, but in 5 days. Needless to say, those last 5 days together were quite frantic, trying to have a bit of fun while getting her (plus her two kiddos) packed up. We got to hang out everyday before saying goodbye, but I still feel like I'm in a bit of shock. Obviously, I knew I was going to have to say goodbye, but hadn't really gotten ready to do it yet ... so goodbye to my sweet China-friend, Natalie and her babies, Olivia & George.

On a different note, Shanghai has been lovely and warm the past couple weeks. Last year this was my favorite time in Shanghai -- warm enough not to be bundled all time, but not so warm that the mosquitos were swarming yet. I found myself really enjoying our small balcony and being able to have windows open. This year, things are a bit different around our house --

This is the view from our window. These houses (that are 20 feet away!) have been under a heavy remodel since February. Literally the entire interior, exterior and roofs have been removed from both and are now in the process of being put back on. Clouds of construction dust have billowed over our house for weeks and we get to listen to the near constant sound of what seem to be jack hammers, drills, generators, nail guns, etc. Plus, these guys and 15 of their friends are at eye level :)

This hasn't stopped me from getting a few flowers though and in spite of the noise, dust and random men peering at me, I love my tiny garden.

Slaying the dragon(fruit)

2011-05-03T07:59:00.002-04:00

While my parents were here they were served some dragon fruit on one of our flights, but I didn't get a chance to show them what a cool looking fruit it is.

So this is for them ... and anyone else who hasn't had a chance to try dragon fruit. It comes in awesome looking natural packaging, is delicious (has the texture of a kiwi fruit and the seeds taste just like kiwi seeds, so it ends up seeming pretty similar) and was easy to prepare (the skin peels off cut pieces easily).

Jason and I were curious how these are grown and with a quick search found they actually grow on the end of a type of cactus vine!! So crazy!

Metal-mouth at 34

2011-04-23T20:24:00.000-04:00

It's been over 20 years since I last had braces. I went into the orthodontists office on Friday to get a new retainer made and came out with 3 metal brackets affixed to my front teeth. Fun.

Luckily, we're only here two more months and I've been assured they will take them off before I leave.

I have what most dentists call "interesting" teeth ... I am missing 10 of my adult teeth and still have 3-4 baby teeth . The adult teeth were just never there. Most people would be excited to find out that they don't have wisdom teeth, but I could have actually used mine had they been around.

As a result of my interesting teeth, I have a bridge that likes to cause problems ... it cracked while I was in Tonga, was replaced in the US only to fall out a month later. Recently, I noticed that some of my teeth were putting pressure on it and had the that idea an updated retainer would fix the glitch. Not so.

Crying over spilled (or curdled) milk

2011-04-21T21:28:00.000-04:00

Don't you just hate it when you have a vision of how you think things should turn out and then one thing goes awry sending everything else on a wayward path?

Many days, when things aren’t going how I envisioned, I find myself shutting down and failing to see how miniscule (and ultimately unimportant) my plan was. Usually, my optimistic husband finds himself working very hard to buoy my spirits and within a short period of time I am completely embarrassed by my immature behavior. I realize that I am in fact acting like a child having a tantrum. What’s worse is that I believe that God has plans for me … I get even more embarrassed by thinking about how He must see me, having an internal tantrum when perhaps He’s protecting me from something or trying to teach me a valuable life lesson or just teaching me something about myself. I am s-l-o-w-l-y coming to realize that even at my worst, He still sees me as His beloved child.

I had a vision yesterday… I was going to make Maui pancakes (I know … this is a pretty small vision). We'd stopped at our fruit stand the day before and bought my favorite combination of fruit (pineapple, strawberries and bananas). Afterwards, I suddenly envisioned the unbelievably delicious pancakes that I had eaten near a beautiful bay in Maui six years ago. It is strange to me that although I’ve thought about those pancakes and the gorgeous setting many times, I’ve never tried to re-create them.

Yesterday was the day. Jason rode his bike to the market and got some whipping cream while I made the batter, chopped nuts and cut up pineapple and bananas. As I remember them, the “real” ones (from The Gazebo at Napili Bay in Maui) are pancakes with macadamia nuts in them topped generously with a concoction of whipped cream, pineapple and bananas. I was substituting with walnuts, but thought I could get close to a decent recreation.

We don’t have any kind of electric mixer and I have whipped cream by hand with a whisk twice while we’ve been here – it is not an easy task. For some reason today I wondered if it could be shaken in a container instead and I set Jason onto that task. Everything was coming along perfectly… but when we pulled the shaken cream back out of the fridge to mix in the pineapple and bananas, Jason says ‘huh, it seems more watery.’ I look at it and it had curdled! I had no idea how that happened or why?

Normally, this would be my giving-up stage … thankfully there were pancakes still on the stove that needed flipping which gave me a moment to figure out a different vision. Walnut pancakes topped with bananas and cinnamon sugar (minus the embarrassment of a meltdown). Not what I envisioned, but still delicious :).

… after a bit research, it seems we let our cream get too warm and may have over-shaken it – better luck next time I hope!

Snapshots of Xi'an & Beijing

2011-04-19T09:18:00.001-04:00

We had a very quick trip to Xi'an and Beijing, spending less than two days in each location; but, we were able to squeeze in the important sites before my parents headed back to the U.S.

After a bit of an adventure getting to our hostel in Xi'an our first night, we traveled by public bus the next morning to take in the incredible Terracotta Warriors! I am fascinated by the young man, Emperor Qin, who at 13 years old commissioned the beginnings of this project.

Afterwards, we wandered down the Muslim snack street and onto the city wall (two of my favorite places in Xi'an).

In Beijing, one of the most special sites for me was seeing a Peace Corps friend, Soraya and meeting her husband, Yun. Soraya had already been in Tonga two years when we arrived and signed on for a third. I was fortunate to be neighbors with her for a short time during my stay in Tonga and it was a great pleasure to reconnect with her -- in China of all places.

We also managed to see the majority of the must-see places in/around Beijing; starting with the Temple of Heaven Park.

... and the Forbidden City

... and of course no trip to Beijing is complete without a trip to walk on the Great Wall!!!

And then, all there was time for was a treat at the airport before they were on their way.

Before leaving Shanghai ...

2011-04-19T07:42:00.001-04:00

... we took my parents on a quick trip to the zoo -- with Spring finally seeming to arrive, the trees were beautifully arrayed in blossoms and new leaves. Afterwards, while my mom & I shopped, the boys went for a bike ride on Shanghai's crazy streets -- and survived! We ended their time here by going up the Shanghai World Financial Center to the highest observation deck in the world ... whew! And then I was on-duty as a tour guide, taking them to Xi'an and Beijing while Jason continued to work at the dorm.

Playing with babies

2011-04-18T10:29:00.001-04:00

While my Mom was in Shanghai we got to visit Shanghai Healing Home. I volunteer at SHH occassionally and have mentioned to her more than once how the place impressed me -- it is the incredible project of a woman who saw a need and took action. This action led her to open a small orphanage primarily for babies with cleft palates. These orphans have an alarming mortality rate within the regular system due to their difficulty eating. SHH has lower caregiver-to-baby ratios which gives them a chance to get healthy enough to begin the series of surgeries required to repair their lips/palates.

We had a fun morning playing with these cuties ... when holding them it is heart breaking to realize that without the help of SHH they might have only become another sad statistic.

Walking around West Lake

2011-04-16T10:38:00.001-04:00

My parents headed home on Thursday and I'm working on getting caught up on life and on photos from their time here. It still seems hard to believe that they were actually here - even though they stayed for two weeks, it went by SO SO fast! Now I can re-live their visit through a few photos - love the memories together!

While in Shanghai, we decided to take a day trip to Hangzhou to walk around the famous West Lake. This trip used to take nearly 3 hours by train, but can now take as little as 45 minutes due to the new high speed trains that are running. Hangzhou is a small town by China standards with a population of around 7 million.

The station was just a bit crowded!

Hangzhou has a cute old town area with plenty of shopping.

West Lake at sunset.

Tom & Pam in Asia

2011-04-06T21:16:00.001-04:00

That's right! My parents are here for a visit! They surprised us last summer by mentioning that they were thinking about visiting us here - it was a surprise since they'd told us before they would not be coming to China to see us. We were thrilled at the prospect and have been looking forward to their visit since they bought their tickets a few months ago.

China is an interesting place and they have had many laughs so far. Something that has completely puzzled me is how people in Shanghai are treating them ... it is very, very unusual. People are going out of their way to be kind to them. You just don't see this type of behavior in Shanghai. After telling one of our students about this, including how a woman chased after us on her bike to share her food with my parents, he flat out said he did not believe it. I wouldn't either, except I'm seeing it with my own eyes.

On the Bund

Waiting for the lights to come on at the Bund.

Making new friends.

Enjoying some "xi-gua" (west melon) - it is SO SO good here!

When in Rome ...

2011-03-29T03:57:00.000-04:00

I finally did it -- I bought a mask! The air here has seemed so so gross lately that it just seemed like the smart thing to do. Especially since (on a very exciting note) I was able to buy a new bike earlier this month. I now rock my new mask whenever I'm riding. I have no idea if it actually helps keep some of the junk out, but it makes me think it could.

And, another one of those things that you don't see everyday in Western cultures ...